


More Than Often

by Akka



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, Illnesses, Kink Meme, M/M, One Shot, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-19
Updated: 2013-07-19
Packaged: 2017-12-20 16:09:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/889236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akka/pseuds/Akka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto never realized that Haruka could be so selfless, and during a surprise after-school visit he finds out for himself. Fill for the kink meme.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than Often

Makoto groaned and slowly rose up off the couch. Someone was knocking persistently at the door, and it seemed tenacious enough that he didn’t want to ignore it for the sake of merely more rest.

Standing at the doorway was Haruka, who was panting and clearly out of breath.

“You weren’t at school today,” he started.

Makoto chuckled. “Hello to you too, Haru.”

“Are you okay? Can you still swim?” Haruka’s eyes were steely as usual, but his tone betrayed a rare concern. Makoto couldn’t help but sheepishly grin, as it wasn’t often that Haru visited him at his own home. And was worried about him at that!

“I’m fine, just a flu is all. Woke up with it this morning and didn’t want you and the others to catch it, especially if I’d gone swimmi-“

Haruka walked into the house and shut the door behind him, ignoring the rest of what Makoto was saying entirely.

Mako started thrashing his arms around as he protested. “But Haru, you can’t stay here! I’ll feel really bad if you get sick too!” He winced at the stinging throbs of pain in his skull the sudden movement had caused. 

“Ughhh…” he grumbled, massaging his temples in an attempt to dilute the recurring pangs.

Haruka’s knitted his brow, looking away. “I’ll go make something for you.”

Makoto laid back onto the couch and closed his eyes, each exhale a dry rasp. Despite Haruka having stepped into the kitchen, there was absolute silence. He coughed to clear his throat and said loudly, “Haru? Did you spot the kiddie-pool in the backyard? That’s for my little brother and sister y’know…”

“There’s nothing I can make in here,” he replied instead. 

Makoto heard the refrigerator open and close multiple times. He tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “But the fridge is packed with food; my parents brought home groceries just yesterday.” 

He paused. “I can’t see any fish though.”

Makoto laughed quietly to himself, before his head-ache started to return. 

“Check the freezer.”

Haruka seemed to have found it then because he could hear him shuffling around with what sounded like a pan as well as the stove click.

While his friend was pan-searing the fish, Makoto decided to continue. “So, when you showed up at the door you looked pretty exhausted, did you run all the way here?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know you’d do something like that just because I wasn’t at school or the swim club today…” He knew the other boy couldn’t see him, so he let his cheeks get hot and his face flush with gratitude.

Another reply from the other room. “Of course I came, I had to make sure you were okay…” his voice wavered a bit, “…for the next swim practice I mean.”

“Ahhh, for the sake of the swim club of course.” One corner of Makoto’s mouth crept up into a grin. He’d caught the evident falter in Haru’s voice.

“What’s with that weird face?”

Makoto’s eyes widened before he tried to collect his composure. He’d been so enveloped in his own thoughts he hadn’t even noticed that Haru had already left the kitchen and was walking over with the finished meal. He mumbled a half-hearted excuse as Haruka set down the fish and sat down on the floor opposite of him.

“Is your family not here?”

“My parents took the kids out somewhere for a bit to give me time to rest. It can get pretty noisy in here sometimes, after all.” Makoto wiped his face with his sleeve as his sinuses began to get congested at the worst possible time. He just hoped he could at least be able to taste a little of his food.

Haruka stood up immediately, walking over to the other boy and resting his hand over his forehead. Makoto went bright red, his eyes wide and his voice shaking. “Um…Haru?”

“You’re way too hot.”

“Well thank you, but-“

“I should bring a fan out to lower your temperature.”

“Oh.”

“And you’ll definitely need a cold bath too. I’ll get one started right away.”

Makoto beamed internally at how much Haru was going out of his way for him, but he felt guilty about all the attention. “It’s alright, I’m sure I’ll be fine if I just wait it out.”  


“You won’t be fine!”

Mako inhaled sharply, which made him cough forcefully for a few seconds.

“I need to help you get better! What if you get so sick that you can’t even get out of bed? It’ll be my fault because I could have done something about it. I’m not going to let you just ignore it like this, let me help you instead. Like you've always helped me with everything!” Haruka blurted out. He stumbled back for a moment, stunned by own words. He averted his gaze for a moment, staring uncomfortably at the floor. 

Makoto didn’t even know what to say. He smiled softly at the anxious boy, feeling overwhelmed with warmth at the sudden declaration. He hadn’t seen Haru so emotional since the day after Rin left, back when they were children. He was surprised that something as mundane as a flu caused such a powerful reaction, but supposed that from his friend’s perspective it wasn’t so mundane at all. He began to sway from the dizzying sensation of his already high temperature topped with the burning heat of his embarrassment at being cared for so diligently. He wasn’t certain how one went about thanking someone for that, but by the time he opened his mouth Haruka had already begun to speak himself.

“The fan’s in your room, right?”

“Yeah, it should be right now. At least, I think it’s in there.”

“I’ll be back in a second.”

As Haruka left to retrieve the fan, Makoto laid back blissfully on the couch. He hadn’t even touched his food yet, but knew that it would probably be delicious because Haru made it. He sneezed, remembering that he still had his illness. But as he closed his eyes he thought to himself, _Maybe I should try to get sick more often…_


End file.
